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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. can — a tin
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. deal — to handle
  7. can — to be able to
  8. swing — music
  9. can — a tin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. row — a line
  13. squash — to crush
  14. press — a publisher
  15. row — to paddle
  16. swing — to play on
  17. clip — a video
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. press — to push
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. press — newspapers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com